Buhisan Dam, Fuente Osmeña mark 100 years

CEBU, Philippines - A marker unveiling and a ceremony commemorating the inauguration of Cebu’s waterworks system will mark the 100th anniversary of the Buhisan Dam and Fuente Osmeña tomorrow, February 13, 2012.

 Located at the top of one of the mountain barangays in Cebu City, the Buhisan Dam, which was completed on February 11, 1912, continues to be a major source of water in the city.

 Built in January 3, 1911, the 27-meter high dam was seen to address the devastating fires that destroyed millions worth of property in the city as well as the deaths due to the lack of safe drinking water.

 A 1906 fire destroyed most of Cebu’s business district. Then in 1909, the urgent need for a safe water supply was highlighted when Cebu suffered the worst cholera outbreak in its history. The disease claimed the lives of 559 Cebuanos in a population of 55,000.

 Sergio Osmeña Sr., who was elected Speaker of the Philippine National Assembly, worked hard to obtain support from the Insular Government for infrastructure projects for Cebu. He collaborated with then governor Dionisio Jakosalem.

 No less than Governor General William Cameron Forbes, who saw the need for a waterworks project in Cebu, helped secure the P550,000 to fund the project.

 With the petition of Municipal President of Cebu Vicente Teves and the municipal board, Forbes issued an executive order declaring 5,590,000 square meters of land in Labangon for the proposed watershed and reservoir.

 Two Americans helped promote the project. Provincial health officer Dr. Arlington Pond and civil engineer Harry Cameron, who was assigned by the Bureau of Public Works to supervise the Cebu waterworks, which was called Osmeña Waterworks upon its completion.

 It was in July 1909 when Cameron assigned engineer Eusebius Julius Halsema to map the contours of the entire watershed. Halsema made rough cost estimates for a dam and a pipeline connecting it to the distribution reservoir, now known as the Tisa Filter Plant.

 By the end of January 1912, water was available on almost every block in Cebu.

 In the afternoon of February 13, 1912, Forbes, Osmeña and other officials arrived in Cebu for the official opening of the waterworks system. A ceremony was held in a fountain, now known as Fuente Osmeña.

 Tomorrow, February 13, 2012, the Buhisan Dam centennial plaque will be unveiled at the dam site at 8 a.m. by officials from the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), led by General Manager Armando Paredes, and Cebu City Government officials.

By 10 a.m., there will be a ceremonial opening of the Fuente Osmeña to be attended by Mayor Michael Rama, MCWD officials and US Consul John Domingo.

 Cultural and Historical Affairs commissioners, descendants of government officials who were behind the waterworks project in 1912 as well as city and fire department officials and the consular corps will also be there.

 The event will be capped with the viewing of a miniature design of Cebu City’s waterworks system to be led by MCWD Chairman Eligio Pacana and the MCWD Board of Directors.  (FREEMAN)